Ukrainian issues on the pages of the Odesa newspaper «Pchiolka» [«Bee»] (1881)

Abstract

The aim of the study is to define the content characteristics of the articles on the Ukrainian topics in the context of publications of the newspaper «Pchiolka» [«Bee»] (Odesa, 1881), which was selected as the main object of the study. Cognitive and educational content of the local mass media (democratization of life in Europe and Russia, features of women’s education in the late XIX century, fiction publications) was a favorable basis for the materials on Ukrainian issues. Methods. The research used the methods of thematic press clipping in finding the necessary texts, biographical method for determining the authorship of publications and deciphering pseudonyms, analysis and interpretation of articles and reviews, as well as generalization. Results. The editor of the newspaper and then the magazine «Pchiolka» was a nobleman of the Kherson province, a lawyer by profession V. Kirchner, who in the leading article of the first issue of his edition (1881) promised to publish everything that shows a «true and honest attitude to the public activities». 7 publications in 17 issues were analyzed (written by K-vych, S. E, O. Andrievsky), which defended the identity of the Ukrainian language and literature (figures of T. Shevchenko, I. Nechuy-Levytsky), stressed the need to lift bans on the introduction of the native language in education, business, religious life. The authors of the newspaper «Pchiolka» not only defended the identity of the Ukrainian language and literature, but also hardily used the terms Ukraine and Ukrainian. Conclusions. The materials of this study show that local periodicals in Ukraine are still poorly understood. Additional searches are also needed to find out the pseudonyms of employees and contributors to the newspaper «Pchiolka» (for instance, K-vych, Natalia P-a, Kv., etc.), because, as evidenced by the Ukrainian issues, today the names of the authors of six publications in Odesa are not recognized.